Facebook is to implement a new policy starting in Sri Lanka and later in Myanmar where it will start removing ‘misinformation’ that could incite violence.
Under the new rules, Facebook said it would create partnerships with local civil society groups to identify misinformation for removal, the New York Times reports.
Sri Lanka’s Court of Appeal has fixed a date for the appeal case of a Sri Lankan politician and 3 others who were convicted of murdering a British aid worker and raping his Russian girlfriend at a holiday resort in 2011, Adaderana reported.
The JVP leader, Anura Kumara Dissanayake warned parliament against transferring Mattala airport to India, arguing it would be a threat to national security.
"Issues with national interest should be considered than losses or economic benefits of the airport. An airport is important in military affairs in a country. It can pose more threat to national security and sovereignty of the country," Mr Dissanayake was quoted by the Daily Mirror as saying.
As part of their continuing involvement in civilian life in the North-East, the Sri Lankan military was seen planting coconut trees in Myliddy this week.
Over 200 trees were planted as part of the project initiated by the Jaffna army commander, Major General Darshana Hettiarachchi.
The decision by the Sri Lankan government to resume implementation of the death penalty on the island could lead to the loss of GSP-Plus preferential trade concession, reports AFP this week.
The report comes after heads of delegations of several Western states, including the European Union, wrote to Sri Lanka’s president expressing their opposition to the reported resumption of capital punishment.
The head of Sri Lanka’s army met with a US Army Pacific Command (USPACOM) delegation last month, where he spoke of the military’s much criticised involvement in civilian projects across the Tamil North-East.
Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister stressed to Parliament yesterday that the government had not made any plans to reduce the number of military personnel or camps in the North-East.
Responding to a question about a Sri Lankan Army circular indicating the removal of certain personnel and camps, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe claimed that the Army made its own decisions on numbers.
The Sri Lankan government spent more than Rs 1 million to bring the controversial British politician Lord Naseby for a one-day visit to the island, reports Ceylon Today.
The Sri Lankan Army has admitted to holding a military intelligence report on a Tamil journalist, a Right to Information Commission report has revealed.
The Sri Lankan military held a two day workshop for Tamil schoolchildren in the Vanni earlier this month, with an aim to “build up the image of the Sri Lanka Army”.
The event is the latest in a long history of the Sri Lankan military involving itself in civilian activities across the North-East, despite almost constant criticism from Tamil politicians and civil society activists. Of particular concern has been the military’s involvement in schools in the region, where uniformed soldiers have frequently held various events.
File photograph:Mr Paisley with MP Liam Fox who himself resigned in 2011 after reports emerged of his dealings with the Sri Lankan government.
British parliamentarian Ian Paisley Jr has been suspended from parliament after being found guilty of accepting all expenses paid trips funded by the Sri Lankan government, before he lobbied against an United Nations Human Rights Council resolution.
